Corning City Council OKs amended agreement for Verizon tower

CORNING &GT;&GT; The Corning City Council moved forward with a land lease agreement with Verizon Wireless that could see a communications tower installed at Estil Clark Park.

Council members Tuesday unanimously authorized Mayor Gary Strack to sign an amended land lease agreement with Verizon for an unmanned, 120-foot monopole and unmanned telecommunications facility at the park.

The City Council approved a five-year land lease agreement at its meeting May 27.

"The amended lease agreement would require that prior to any additional carriers establishing facilities at this location a new and separate lease agreement would have to be agreed to by the city and that particular carrier," according to a city staff document.

The tower would replace an existing light pole at the park's southwest baseball field, and the existing light standard would be remounted on the cell tower, according to the city.

The city of Corning would receive $16,200 per year from Verizon, with a 2 percent annual increase from the previous year's rental.

A public hearing on Verizon's use permit application was held June 17 before the Planning Commission, which approved the permit on three conditions, including painting the new pole to match existing light poles at the baseball field, adding a net to cover the unmanned facility to prevent balls from falling in the area, and complying with local, state and federal regulations, "especially those imposed by the city of Corning building and fire departments," according to the staff document.

The owners of DM-Tech, an Internet service provider based in Corning, raised concerns at the City Council's May 27 meeting that its operation could potentially interfere with Verizon's licensed frequency, leading to a shut down of services to about 1,000 of its customers.

DM-Tech's wireless Internet services are provided over frequencies not regulated by the Federal Communications Commission known as the unlicensed spectrum, which is available for public use. Because the DM-Tech's equipment could possibly interfere with Verizon Wireless' private licensed frequency, the company's owners said it's possible that a portion of their operation could be shut down.

While DM-Tech's owners, Richard and Melody Poisson, did not attend Tuesday's meeting, it appeared that those fears had been allayed after talks between them, city staff and Verizon officials.